Before I start just want you to know Speedy is ok, probably still in shock but have had her checked and Vet seems happy with her.

I returned home from shopping to find her shed on fire! I made sure she wasn't in there and then managed to put fire out with garden hose pipe! I have never been so scared in my life! Speedy was pacing at the top end of the run, and was distressed. Once the fire was out I gave her a tepid bath and kept topping it up until she had calmed. I think she was in there when the fire started and thankfully got herself out! She did eat some supper but took herself to bed and stayed there til this morning. After the vets we re-done her run, fenced off the burnt area and built her a new hidey hole etc. It won't be heated but I won't put her out unless weather is good.

It has scared the life out of me so have found someone who is going to build me a proper purpose built brick house and set it all up properly.

I just want to show people the dangers of setting up outside and to MAKE SURE everything is safe and secure! I do not know how it happened, and I will be extra vigilant from now on.

The new space is only temporary but I think she likes it! I dug the grass back up and repotted it so it gives her somewhere to hide etc, she was busy exploring earlier today when the sun came out, but is snuggled in her cupboard now.

. Oh Bex. I cannot start to imagine how scary it was for you and I cant tell you how pleased I am that Speedy made it out herself and finding a safe area. Just goes to show how robust and knowing they are.
Looking at the photos of the aftermath is making my blood run cold. You are a hero, quick thinking and have done a great job on a makeshift area for her to settle into. Well done for that.
Would you mind if I posted a photo on the FB page and directed the viewers to your story here?
Thanks for letting us know and further more allowing others to be warned by your lucky escape.
Lin
xxx

Oh my God Bex -- my heart was in my mouth when I saw those photos! Thank goodness you arrived back in time, and I'm so glad that Speedy is OK. I guess you will never know what caused it, but I have heard of another fire in a tortoise shed, and that was caused when a lamp exploded and the hot bits of glass fell onto straw or hay that was being used for bedding and started the fire, but your enclosurer didn't have that if I remember correctly.

Thanks so much for the photos. Your thread on Speedy's new enclosure with photos when you had just set it up is right under this thread so you can see the before and after, and it must be heartbreaking after all the work you put in on that to have it all go so suddenly. I suppose that that the plus side is that a brick-built new shed will provide better insulation on cold nights as well as being more fireproof.

Hi guys, thank you for your kind words and continuing support. I did have a layer of cardboard on the bottom as it was a metal base and Speedy didn't like it, she wouldn't go in until I covered it. I have had so much to do I did not get round to filling it with dirt/sand. I did find broken glass pieces in the ashes, maybe it did explode and caught the cardboard!

The new house will have concrete floors and dirt/sand from day one! I am happy for you to link this and make people aware, I hope it helps others in the future.

Thanks for allowing that Bex, thats really kind under the circumstances.
We all overlook things sometimes and nobody is 100% all of the time. Maybe its because of things like this happening that makes us a little better in what we do. Accidents happen no matter how bad they make us feel.
Everyone is safe and that is down to you.

Hi to everyone on Facebook commenting...just for the record I did have a qualified electrician to run the wire and fit the outside plug socket for me! It was inside the shed and the bulb run off a thermostat. I always turn it off before I go anywhere but left in a rush and first time I didn’t do it, my mistake totally.

Gosh, that is really bad luck! I guess you will never know the cause. I know you found bits of glass from the bulb on the floor, but that could either be because the bulb exploded and started the fire, or because the fire started from another source and burnt the bulb and caused it to shatter. I think your new brick-built accommodation is going to be stupendous!

Yeah, my father-in-law was a fireman and most fires he took part in extinguishing were started by some electrical fluke. I'll pay two times as much attention as I use to when turning on and off stuff at home but the most important is still that you, your family, Speedy and your house are alright.